Last month, Mike and I got to spend a few days alone. Which might not seem like a big deal, but we could count on one hand the number of nights we’ve spent without our kids since the first one was born nearly eight years ago, so yeah, it was a thing. The kids were with my mudder and not only did I take a couple days off work, but we even went away overnight for a complete refresh (aka to escape the never-ending laundry pile that is our home).
At first, it was kinda weird. The house was too quiet. Rooms we tidied stayed tidy. The laundry even seemed to stop multiplying. But we quickly settled in and started to remember what it was like when it was just us. We definitely wouldn’t want it to be just us ever again, of course, but for a day or two at a time, it’s not too shabby.
We dressed up (and took a selfie because omg we never get dressed up to go out and if I’m going to put on pantyhose, I’m going to document it), enjoyed several meals in which we talked to each other without being interrupted — and chose restaurants that were not based solely on kid friendliness, we pretended to be fitter than we are and went on a hike (and then whined to each other about how sore we were the next day), we did quiet things like read and listened to a podcast. We even went to the spa for massages.
Mike’s going to be super excited when he sees these photos of him that he didn’t know I took.
Planning and anticipating the time away was part of the fun. We tucked away gift cards and spare change to give ourselves a little extra room to splurge. We tried to do things that were just about us because the rest of our lives naturally revolves around the boys.
It felt good to just be husband and wife for a few days and take off our mom and dad hats (we needed to throw those hats in the washer anyway). It reminded us that taking care of ourselves and our relationship is good for the whole family.